Release Date: 08/27/2021

Cardinal Winds is the tenth canonical RANGES studio album, recorded during 2020–2021 and released without announcement—emerging from silence with only a handful of advance singles as signals before the flood.

The album continues directly from the narrative arc of Babel: Confusion of Tongues. Where Babel ended in fragmentation and collapse, Cardinal Winds begins with a deluge: the oceanic symbol of dissolution, washing away all markers of the old world. A Great Reset—not as triumph, but as reckoning.

In the wake of obliteration, a question remains:
How does one navigate a world with no map?

The answer lies in the Cardinal Directions—North, East, West, South. These are tools of physical orientation, especially at sea. The cover art forms a compass rose, splitting the waters into four quadrants: the four corners of the world. But even the order of directions has been chosen with care—hinting at modern methods of navigation and the uncertainty that comes with them.

Internally, the album turns toward moral direction.
The Cardinal Virtues—Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance—are embodied as classical goddesses within the album’s interior artwork, each bearing the traditional symbols of their domain. These are not abstract ideals, but invitations: to live upright in a world adrift.

At the heart of the album lies its namesake:
Cardinal Winds—the hinge, the axis, the fixed point.
The song sits at the center of the record—
the point around which all else turns.
Without this center, the winds are chaos.
With it, there is orientation.

Prelude III

The map arrives before the storm.

Release Date: 06/30/2021

Released in advance of Cardinal Winds, Prelude III served as a cryptic signal—offering no announcement, only atmosphere.

This cassette contained the backing tracks for the entire Cardinal Winds album, stripped of all guitars and drums. What remained was the pulse and structure beneath the surface: bare, exposed, and prophetic.

The artwork and track titles gave subtle glimpses into the themes and architecture of the coming release, hinting at water, wind, orientation, and collapse. Though silent on the surface, the cassette whispered direction to those attuned.

This was not a teaser.
It was a navigation chart.
And the deluge was drawing near.

The Intercardinals

What lies between is no less sacred.

Following the release of Cardinal Winds, the Intercardinal Series unfolded in four phases, each revealed in three-month intervals. Named for the diagonal directions between the cardinal points—NE, SE, NW, and SW—these releases existed to fill in the conceptual space between the main winds. They served as a bridge, as a mirror, and as a descent into the depths beneath the surface of the album’s themes.

Each Intercardinal took the form of a USB-based ritual object. Housed on a two-gigabyte flash drive, the music was hidden within a layered and deliberately confusing folder structure. These directories contained not only original digital compositions but also unreleased demos, archival photos, video footage, and fragments of artwork from the hidden vaults of RANGES.

Embedded within the structure of each drive was one-quarter of the 1916 silent film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, re-scored with original music drawn from the corresponding release. The deeper one explored, the stranger it became—hidden links, online countdown timers, and password-protected storefronts connected directly to the Gods of the Marketplace, where secret merchandise could be unlocked. In the furthest reaches of each drive, one might find doorways to esoterica: fragments of ritual, philosophical writings, and hidden references.

Each flash drive was accompanied by a prayer candle, wrapped in the image of one of the four classical goddesses from the Cardinal Winds gatefold. A section of a large-format poster was included with each release—one-fourth of a greater whole that could only be completed by assembling all four. Each Intercardinal was also packaged with a box of matches bearing the direction of the release and the RANGES seal.

The standard editions were limited to thirty-three copies each.

The deluxe editions—only three per Intercardinal—featured black and gold variants of all components. The wax of the candles was replaced with beeswax to mirror the inclusion of honey in the Cardinal Winds deluxe edition. The flash drives contained additional unreleased material, layered deeper into the digital spiral.

All Intercardinal music is now available for listening and download below. The fully reassembled and re-scored 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is also presented in its entirety.

To preserve the mystery of the original structure, screenshots of the USB folder architecture are displayed in each section as a faint echo of the labyrinth they once contained.

This was not a bonus project.
This was a system.
A veiled compass.
A ritual in four winds.

Prudence / NORTHEAST

She who sees ahead.

The virtue of Prudence is that of sagacity—“seeing ahead.” She governs through wisdom, insight, and the disciplined use of reason. Prudence discerns between virtue and vice, not instinctively, but deliberately. It is the foundation upon which all other virtues are measured and directed.

Considered the mother of all virtues, Prudence lights the path before the others can walk it. Without her, even Fortitude may become recklessness, Justice may turn cruel, and Temperance may collapse into passivity.

She holds the book or scroll—symbols of study, knowledge, and the sacred work of thought. Not only must one seek truth, but once found, act in accordance with it.

The mirror she bears is not for vanity but for clarity. It reveals—not to flatter, but to confront. It is a symbol of self-knowledge: the courage to see oneself as one is, in order to act as one must.

The serpent coils at her side—not to deceive, but to counsel. Its wisdom is ancient, complex, and sharp. As it is written in Matthew 10:16:

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.”

In Prudence, cunning is not sin.
It is guidance.
It is vision.

FORTITUDE / SOUTHEAST

She who stands unshaken.

The virtue of Fortitude speaks to strength of will—the noble and steady resolve of the mind when faced with suffering, fear, or injustice. She does not rage against hardship, but endures it. In her refinement, one gains the courage to stand by conviction, to speak truth, and to remain unchanged by threat or consequence.

The goddess holds a mace—not as a weapon of chaos, but as a symbol of controlled power. When wielded with precision, it becomes an instrument of unwavering purpose.

Beside her, the broken column stands as testament to trials endured. Even when fractured, it remains upright—reflecting the spirit that refuses to collapse beneath adversity. Strength is not the absence of weakness, but the choice to rise in spite of it.

The lion, ancient emblem of power, dwells at her feet. It embodies courage and dominance, but also serves as a reminder: untamed strength can become destruction. Fortitude is not brute force—it is disciplined power.

She is the flame that doesn’t flicker.
The shield that doesn’t crack.
The voice that doesn’t break.

JUSTICE / NORTHWEST

She who divides rightly.

The virtue of Justice is the foundation of righteousness, equity, and moral clarity. It demands that all are treated not as favored or forsaken, but as equals before the weight of truth. Justice is not vengeance. It is balance.

The goddess bears the sword of action and Truth. It is sharp, not for violence, but for discernment—able to cleave between what is right and what merely appears so. In her hand, the sword becomes a symbol of decisive clarity, able to divide truth from illusion, fact from distortion.

Upon her head rests a crown, not as ornament, but as emblem of the highest judgment. It reflects the ideal—a divine standard—and reminds all who seek Justice that they must strive not for personal gain, but for impartiality drawn from above.

Beside her, the scales remain in perfect equilibrium. Ancient and universal, they weigh the hearts of mortals and the deeds of kings without bias. They symbolize not just fairness, but the capacity to hold contradiction in balance without collapse.

Justice does not sway.
She does not speak first.
But when she speaks, it is final.

TEMPERANCE / SOUTHWEST

She who balances the depths.

The virtue of Temperance is the art of regulation—of holding back when instinct presses forward. She governs moderation, sobriety, discretion, and self-control. Hers is not a quiet virtue, but a deeply active force, constantly adjusting the balance between extremes.

Water is her domain. It reflects emotion, intuition, and chaos. But in Temperance’s hands, water does not overwhelm. It is guided.

The goddess stands at the helm, her hands steady on the metaphorical wheel. She navigates uncertain waters not with force, but with unwavering composure—exerting a masculine dynamic of control over the feminine depths of emotion. Neither force is rejected. Both are brought into harmony.

She holds a chalice, carefully pouring water from one vessel to another. This act is symbolic—not of restraint alone, but of intentional balance. In the measured transfer, anger cools. Desire softens. The waters still.

Beneath her, the fish swims with ease. It belongs to the deep. It does not resist the tide, but moves within it—a symbol of attunement, instinct, and the kind of wisdom only turbulence can teach.

Temperance is not about denial.
It is the precision of just enough.
The stillness at the center of the storm.